GREETINGS, MR. GREEN

This is a sequence of pictures of Mr. Green, the successful male Dipper who helped fledge five youngsters last summer in Ashland Creek. Today he was not diving but standing on the edge of a cataract just down from Pioneer Street Bridge, LIthia Park, and clearly dipping his head into the stream and catching food whule standing on a slippery rock. Neat.

Note this Filcker’s tongue, useful in grabbing termites and ants from long grass, or pulling food from crevices in trees. All woodpeckers had special adhesive tongues to help draw food from holes and crevices.